Religion and Politics: Military Service in Israel

Most States, in order to defend themselves, have military forces. Some impose a compulsory military service, MS, to their male citizens (less so to women); others rely on voluntary MS, except in periods of emergency or war.

This creates specific problems that need specific policies: status of conscientious objectors, treatment of clergy and members of various religions. More surprising is the establishment by States with a strict separation between State and Church (US, France…) of chaplaincy services, provided and paid for by public funds.

The relations between army and religion are particularly acute in Israel, creating both a “sui generis” case and one within the framework of democratic States. The Jewish religious approach is far from united, from the army as a holy institution (Yeshivot Hesder) to the conscription as a waste of time that should be exclusively devoted to religious studies. The various recent attempts to conscript the Haredim have not been a success.

Is the de facto exemption from MS for Haredim, regardless of the law, a case of ”consociational democracy” (Lijphart) or, as we suggest, a choice between a State that treats all its citizen the same way, even at the cost of disturbances or that formulates a modulated policy, even at the cost of inequality for carrying the defense burden?

The paper will try to analyze the inevitable conflict between a policy, based on principles, and its application, based on feasibility